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# Former Generic Drug Exec Pleads Guilty
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/former-generic-drug-exec-pleads-guilty/
- Published: 2020-02-18T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T16:03:30.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5146103

The Justice Department says **Hector Kellum**, a former senior executive at an unidentified New Jersey generic drug company, pleaded guilty 2/14 to his role in a conspiracy to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate customers for generic drugs. The *New York Times* identified Kellum’s former employer as Novartis’ Sandoz unit.

A department [statement](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-generic-pharmaceutical-executive-pleads-guilty-role-criminal-antitrust-conspiracy?ref=fdaweb.com) says that from at least 3/2013 to at least 6/2015 Kellum was involved in the conspiracy that included the drugs clobetasol and nystatin triamcinolone cream. The department says his co-conspirators included a generic drug company headquartered in New York and various individuals. The *Times* identified the other company as Taro Pharmaceuticals and said that one of its former executives, **Ara Aprahamian**, who was indicted 2/4.

Kellum has agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation into criminal antitrust violations in the generic drug industry. He is the fourth executive to be charged in the investigation and the third to plead guilty. The statement says that so far two companies also have been charged. The corporate charges were resolved through a deferred prosecution agreement, it says. The investigation is being overseen by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The statement says the statutory maximum penalty for the charged offense is 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the amount derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum.

The charging information against Keller is [here](http://www.fdaweb.com/download.php?file=16742368-0--25711.pdf). The plea agreement has been sealed by a Pennsylvania federal court.